An experimental study is conducted to investigate the flow dynamics within the near-wake region of a horizontal axis wind turbine using particle image velocimetry (PIV). Measurements were performed in the horizontal plane in a row of four radially distributed measurement windows (tiles), which are then patched together to obtain larger measurement field. The mean and turbulent components of the flow field were measured at various blade phase angles. The mean velocity and turbulence characteristics show high dependency on the blade phase angle in the near-wake region closer to the blade tip and become phase independent further downstream at a distance of about one rotor diameter. In the near-wake region, both the mean and turbulent characteristics show a systemic variation with the phase angle in the blade tip region, where the highest levels of turbulence are observed. The streamlines of the instantaneous velocity field at a given phase allowed to track a tip vortex which showed wandering trend. The tip vortices are mostly formed at r/R > 1, which indicates the wake expansion. Results also show the gradual movement of the vortex region in the axial direction, which can be attributed to the dynamics of the helical tip vortices which after being generated from the tip, rotate with respect to the blade and move in the axial direction because of the axial momentum of the flow. The axial velocity deficit was compared with other laboratory and field measurements. The comparison shows qualitative similarity.
Abstract. The power generation and loading dynamic responses of a 2.2 m diameter horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) under some of the IEC 61400-1 transient extreme operational conditions, more specifically extreme wind shears (EWSs) and extreme operational gust (EOG), that were reproduced at the WindEEE Dome at Western University were investigated. The global forces were measured by a multi-axis force balance at the HAWT tower base. The unsteady horizontal shear induced a significant yaw moment on the rotor with a dynamic similar to that of the extreme event without affecting the power generation. The EOG severely affected all the performance parameters of the turbine.
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